The importance of hiring a commercial cleaning service to help your restaurant comply with food standards legislation

For restaurants and other businesses dealing with food preparation, a high standard of cleanliness is vital in ensuring you comply with food hygiene laws.  In addition to this, most customers now expect a spotless restaurant when dining out, and although people are continuing to eat out despite the recession, competition between restaurants has increased, making it all the more important to make sure you don’t lose out through failing to hire a commercial cleaning company.

The Food Safety Act 1990 was implemented to protect public health by making sure that businesses involving food preparation adhere to proper hygiene and nutritional standards.  All restaurants and other catering establishments must ensure they comply with the act.  The Food Standards Agency provides help and advice for food businesses, producing a number of factsheets on its website, www.food.gov.uk, including advice on proper restaurant cleaning practices.

The advice includes common-sense cleaning such as regularly wiping down work surfaces, keeping raw and cooked meat separate and washing hands at regular intervals and after contact with possible sources of germs.  They also list the areas and equipment that should be regularly disinfected.  These include all surfaces that come into contact with food, such as knives, work surfaces and tin openers. 

For more difficult to clean areas, or equipment with moving parts, the use of professional commercial cleaners is recommended.  A good commercial cleaning company will use specially trained teams of cleaners, who are dedicated to providing a comprehensive and high quality level of cleanliness to your restaurant.

It is also important to ensure your dining area is spotless, since this is the area your customers will see, and they will take it as a reflection of the standard of cleanliness in your kitchen.  Many customers will also take the level of cleanliness of your restaurant as an indicator of the quality of the food, making it doubly vital you do not forget to pay attention to this area of the business.

By hiring a commercial cleaning service, you can rest assured that your restaurant cleaning is taken care of, from front of house to every part of your food preparation area, leaving you free to get on with the business of managing your restaurant.  Allow a specialist commercial cleaner to focus on the job they are specifically trained to do, efficient restaurant cleaning to an excellent standard.

Meanwhile the local authority scheme, “Scores on the Doors”, provides a further incentive for restaurants to stay spotless.  Under the scheme, registered restaurants and other food-related businesses are awarded a hygiene rating.  Potential customers can check the ratings of establishments in their area by visiting the website, www.scoresonthedoors.org.uk and highly rated restaurants are given certificates to display.

Whether or not your restaurant is registered in the scheme, food safety officers employed by local councils can make unannounced inspections of premises dealing with food at any time.  Their aim is to enforce food safety legislation and protect public health, and they have the power to shut down establishments that are excessively unhygienic.

Office cleaning company Sloane Cleaning Services offer restaurant and office cleaning.  They will send a team of restaurant or office cleaners tailor-made to meet your requirements.  The cleaning company boasts more than 25 years of experience of providing restaurant and office cleaning services.  London-based, they cover a range of areas across Greater London.  Visit their website at www.sloanecleaning.co.uk for more information about their restaurant and office cleaning services

For further information or to speak with one of our office cleaning advisors, Contact Us or call 020 7584 6500 to discuss your cleaning requirements.